1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of arranging minute particles on a substrate through utilization of a protein.
2. Related Art
Ferritin is a spherical protein that includes a metal compound therein which is typified by iron oxide. When any metal compound is not included therein but has a hollow space inside, ferritin is referred to as “apoferritin”.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-187844 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-187845 (Patent Document 2) disclose as the first prior art for arranging ferritin on a substrate, to arrange a plural number of molecules of ferritin on an aminosilane molecule-modified film by forming the aminosilane molecule-modified film on a part of the substrate surface, and bringing the same into contact with a ferritin solution.
Kumagai et al., Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 45 (2006) 8311 (Nonpatent Document 1) and Kumagai et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 88 (2006) 153103 (Nonpatent Document 2) disclose as the second prior art, to arrange one, (i.e., single) ferritin molecule on each molecular film spot by forming a minute molecular film spot constituted with aminosilane on a part of a substrate surface, and then bringing this substrate into contact with a ferritin solution. According to the Nonpatent Documents 1 and 2, the position where single ferritin molecule is arranged on a substrate can be freely determined.
Pamphlet of International Publication No. 2003/040025 (Patent Document 3) discloses as the third prior art, a process for regularly arraying ferritin on a substrate through partially substituting an amino acid on the external side surface of ferritin. According to Patent Document 3, an amino acid at a certain position on the external side surface is substituted with a positively or negatively charged amino acid.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-033191 (Patent Document 4) discloses as the fourth prior art, to permit inclusion of a noble metal typified by gold into apoferritin through partially substituting the amino acid on the inner side surface of apoferritin.